Apprenticeship

Level of Communal Obligation – Foundational Mastery

Program aim: To equip students with the core revealed and instrumental sciences that a community requires for sound practice of its religion, while grounding them in Arabic, creed, spiritual refinement, and basic research and service.

Qur’an Studies

Correct recitation and tajwīd

Introduction to the canonical readings (qirāʾāt)

Analytical tafsīr of selected sūrahs

Qur’anic sciences (revelation context, compilation, abrogation, causes of revelation, Makkan/Madīnan, etc.)

Generations and schools of reciters and exegetes, and an overview of their methods

text
text
Hadith Studies

Memorization of selected hadith and short texts (worship, transactions, ethics)

Hadith terminology and an introduction to takhrīj (locating and tracing narrations)

Study of chains of transmission and an introduction to hidden defects (ʿilal)

Biographical evaluation: ranks of narrators and principles of criticism and praise

History of hadith compilation and major collections

a book shelf filled with lots of books
a book shelf filled with lots of books
Fiqh and Legal Theory

Madhhab-based fiqh (core chapters of worship and basic transactions)

Comparative fiqh in selected chapters

Usūl al‑fiqh (sources of law, language and indications, qiyās, preference and weighting of evidences)

Legal maxims (qawāʿid fiqhiyya) and selected “similarities and analogues” texts

Practical training in deriving branches (furūʿ) from principles (usūl)

silver and brown round pendant necklace on brown wooden table
silver and brown round pendant necklace on brown wooden table
Arabic Language and Rhetoric

Grammar (beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels)

Morphology with application to Qur’anic and hadith texts

Rhetoric: sciences of meanings, clarity, and stylistic embellishment

Etymology, orthography, and core vocabulary (with use of classical dictionaries)

Prosody and rhyme; introduction to academic and research writing

a piece of paper with writing on it
a piece of paper with writing on it
Creed, Spiritual Refinement, and History

Creed: pillars of faith, Sunni creedal formulations, and an introduction to later theological schools

Spiritual refinement: adab of the seeker, adab of disagreement, structured tazkiya exercises

Prophetic sīrah and general Islamic history, including the history of Khula'fa and main Islamic civilizations

a person holding a book up to their face
a person holding a book up to their face
Research Skills and Community Service

Introduction to research methods in the Islamic sciences

Guided reading of primary texts with written summaries and critical notes

Supervised service: research assistance, teaching assistance, or structured community service in the masjid/foundation

a person sitting in a chair reading a book
a person sitting in a chair reading a book